W&L Women's Basketball Notes - ODAC Tournament

THE HEAD GENERAL
Christine Clancy (Brandeis '06) is in her first season as the head coach at Washington and Lee after serving as the assistant coach last year. Before W&L, Clancy spent three years at Colby College, serving as an interim head coach in her final season. As head coach of the Mules, Clancy guided the team to a 22-6 overall record and an NCAA Tournament berth where they advanced to the second round. Clancy holds an 8-15 (.349) overall record at the helm of the Generals.

ALL-TIME RECORD
The Washington and Lee women's basketball program is participating in its 20th varsity season during the 2012-13 school year. Over that period of time, the Generals have compiled a 223-281 (.442) overall record and have won one Old Dominion Athletic Conference title (2010).

LAST TIME OUT (W&L 54, Shenandoah 36 • Lexington, Va. • 2/16/13)
Washington and Lee took the lead with 10:45 left in the first half and never relinquished the advantage as the Generals defeated Shenandoah, 54-36, on Saturday at the Warner Center. Neither team could get separation in the first 8:52 of the contest, which featured five lead changes and two ties. With the game tied at 8-8 at 10:45, a foul by first-year forward Sarah Dixon sent senior forward Rachel Warrick to the line. She made both attempts to put W&L up by two, 10-8. The Blue and White extended its lead to as many as eight points (18-10) by the 5:23 mark, and walked into the break with a seven-point advantage, 23-16. The Generals started the second period on a 4-0 run to take their largest lead (11), 27-16, at 17:06. SU continued to stay in the contest, cutting the deficit to eight (36-28) with 8:52 left off a layup by junior guard Crystal Petrus. W&L answered with a 16-2 stretch over the next six minutes to pull ahead by 22 points, 52-30, at the 2:53 mark, and did not allow the Hornets to come any closer than 18 to take the win. W&L out-rebounded SU, 40-32, while also forcing the Hornets into 24 turnovers. Senior forward Katy Wilson paced the Blue and White with a game-high 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. First-year forward Wesleigh Vick notched 10 points and six boards, and sophomore guard Annie Gauf collected seven points, five rebounds, five steals and three helpers. For the Hornets, Petrus scored a team-best 11 points, and added four rebounds and a pair of steals. First-year guard Imani Heggins recorded nine points, two boards, four steals and two blocks.

FIRST MEETING WITH THE WASPS (W&L 60, E&H 49 • Emory, Va. • 1/3/13)
Washington and Lee never trailed in a 60-49 win over Emory & Henry at the King Center. The Generals held the Wasps to just 30.9 percent (21-68) shooting from the floor and 3-of-13 (.231) from the three-point line. E&H also made just 4-of-13 (.308) free throws in the contest. W&L built a nine-point lead (16-7) with an 8-0 run midway through the first half. Emory & Henry responded with an immediate 8-0 run of its own to cut the W&L lead to 16-15 with 7:03 left in the half, but the Generals got back-to-back layups from first-year forward Shelbi Hendricks to push the lead back to five points (20-15) en route to a 24-20 lead at the break. The Generals maintained a slim lead through the opening six minutes and change of the second period, but a 9-0 run keyed by four points from senior forward Katy Wilson and three from first-year guard Paige Corvino pushed the lead to 10 points (42-32) with 9:05 to play. The Wasps would get no closer than six points (45-39) the rest of the way as the Generals pulled away for the win. Wilson led W&L with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. She also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, dished four assists and collected three steals. Hendricks finished with a career-high 14 points, while first-year forward Wesleigh Vick contributed eight points and tied a career-high with nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Kristie Langley led E&H with 16 points. Sophomore forward Carlyta Hamm scored 12 points, while junior forward JoBeth Wright grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, to go with six points.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE WASPS (W&L 55, Emory & Henry 52 • Lexington, Va. • 2/5/13)
Washington and Lee took the lead with 2:14 remaining and forced Emory & Henry to miss its final three shots to claim a 55-52 win over the Wasps at the Warner Center. With the game tied at 50-50, senior forward Rachel Warrick was sent to the line and made both attempts to push W&L ahead by two, 52-50, with 2:14 remaining. A jumper by first-year guard Paige Corvino at 1:36 increased the lead to four (54-50). Sophomore guard Michelle Williams netted a pair of free throws to pull E&H back to within two (54-52) with 1:25 on the clock. Williams' three shots in the final minute did not connect and Corvino made one more free throw to reach the final score. After the score was tied at 25-25 at halftime, the Generals jumped out to a 9-4 run to start the second period and held a 36-29 advantage at the 12:45 mark. The teams exchanged baskets for the next few minutes until a jumper by junior forward JoBeth Wright ignited a 6-0 stretch by E&H to take its first lead of the half, 42-40, with 8:08 left in the game. The next 5:34 featured four ties, but W&L was able to stop the back-and-forth game with its final stretch. The Generals shot 39.7 percent (23-58) from the floor, but was stifled from three-point range, as they missed on all six of their attempts. Emory & Henry was forced into 20 turnovers, while being held to 36.4 percent (20-55) from the field. Warrick led the Generals' scoring with 19 points, and added two rebounds and three assists. Senior forward Katy Wilson notched 12 points, three rebounds, six assists and one block, and first-year forward Shelbi Hendricks registered 11 points, four boards and one block. For the Wasps, Williams recorded a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Kristie Langley scored 12 points and grabbed six helpers and two steals, and first-year forward Karina Farr collected 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

FACING EMORY & HENRY
W&L and E&H will meet for the 40th time, with the Generals holding a 21-18 advantage in the all-time series. This week's ODAC Tournament meeting is just the second time the teams face off in the conference championship. The first time occurred during the 2001-2002 season, when the Wasps defeated W&L, 75-58, on February 2 in the first round.

SCOUTING THE WASPS
Emory & Henry enters this week's contest as the ninth seed in the tournament after finishing the year 7-17 overall and 4-12 in conference play. In the Wasps' final regular-season game, they traveled to Virginia Wesleyan, dropping a 77-31 decision. E&H shot just 25.5 percent (13-51) from the field and committed 32 turnovers. Sophomore guard Kristie Langley led the Wasps with eight points, while grabbing five rebounds. First-year guard Tenesha Connor added seven points and sophomore guard Michelle Williams recorded six rebounds. On the season, Williams is averaging 12.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 1.3 apg. First-year forward Karina Farr is registering 11.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg, and Langley is collecting 10.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 2.1 apg.

HITTING THE BOOKS
The classroom isn't the only place senior forwards Rachel Warrick and Katy Wilson have been reaching for the books, as they have also made a dent in the W&L record books during their four seasons here. Combined, the two captains are present on six of W&L's Top 10 career lists. Wilson's 44.9 percent (393-876) mark from the field is tied for fourth for career field goal percentage, and she is also fifth in career rebounds (799), tied for sixth in career blocked shots (71), eighth career field goals (393) and 10th in career points (973). Warrick sits seventh for career free throw percentage, shooting 75.9 percent (183-241) from the foul line.

HIT US WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
Washington and Lee has done a fantastic job of defending the three-point arc this season, allowing its opponents to shoot just 23.1 percent (72-312) from beyond the arc to sit third in the league and 14th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense. In a 61-39 win over Chatham, the Generals held the Cougars without a three-pointer made in nine attempts. Southside Virginia Community College shot just 1-for-14 (.071) from long range and Johns Hopkins hit just 2-of-15 (.133). Shenandoah, Eastern Mennonite and Roanoke were all held to two made three-pointers and recently, Lynchburg went just 1-for-10 from behind the arc (.100).

WATCH OUT FOR WILSON
Senior forward Katy Wilson has played an important role in W&L's success this season, averaging a team-best 11.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.9 spg and 1.0 bpg. Wilson has recorded a double-double five times this year and has netted double-digit points in 15 contests, including a season-high 21 points against Roanoke on November 15. She is also ranked in the top eight in four of the ODAC's statistical rankings. Wilson is sitting fourth in the league in offensive rebounds (3.1 rpg), fifth in total rebounds (8.2 rpg), sixth in defensive rebounds (5.0 rpg), and seventh in blocks (1.0 bpg).

SENIOR DAY SPECIAL
Since the celebration of Senior Day against Hollins on February 9, the three seniors, guard Megan Marks, and forwards Rachel Warrick and Katy Wilson, each have stepped up their performances. The trio tallied 40 points to make up 71.4 percent of the team's 56 total points, and also added 12 rebounds, eight steals and four assists in the loss to Hollins. Wilson also led W&L with 16 points, while Warrick knocked down 13 and Marks notched 11 points. At Randolph last Wednesday, 77.6 percent of the Generals' 58 points came from the seniors, with Warrick leading the way with a game-high 20 points. Marks collected her first double-double on 11 points and 10 assists, while Wilson scored 14 points. In the win over Shenandoah on Saturday, Wilson recorded her fifth double-double on the season with 12 points and 10 boards, and added five assists and two steals. Warrick notched six points while going 4-for-5 from the line and Marks finished third on the team in points (7) and rebounds (5).

FEBRUARY FRENZY
Even with a 2-4 record in contests in February, the Generals have seen improvements in many areas on the court. In the six games, W&L is averaging 54.2 ppg, 10 points more than in November (44.2) and almost three more than last month (51.8). Along with increasing their block count from 2.6 bpg to 3.7 bpg, the Generals also are turning over the ball less now (15.3 per game) than the beginning of the season (17.2 per game), while increasing its assist count (14.0-8.4).

HOLD ON TIGHT
Turnovers can cause teams a lot of trouble in a game, but the Generals have found a way to take care of the ball better than most other teams in the league. W&L is averaging 17.2 turnovers per game to rank third in the ODAC. Off of these opportunities, opponents are scoring just 11.0 ppg. On the other hand, the Blue and White is forcing opposing teams into 19.2 turnovers per game, while stealing 14.0 ppg from them. Against Emory & Henry this season, the Generals scored 13.0 ppg after causing 17.0 turnovers per game.

TOURNAMENT STYLE
With the addition of Shenandoah to the ODAC this season, the women's basketball tournament schedule experienced some changes from years past. Instead of just the top eight teams advancing to the tournament, all 12 teams have a chance to play. With this change, the top four seeds earn a first-round bye with seeds 5-12 playing a first-round contest, hosted by seeds 5-8. The winners of the first round will advance to the quarterfinals, taking place at the Salem Civic Center beginning on Thursday, where they will face the respective top four seeds. Because W&L finished the season in eighth place, the Generals host ninth-seeded Emory & Henry, with the winner set to take on top-seeded Eastern Mennonite on Thursday at 1:00 pm.

MAKING HISTORY
If the Generals defeat Emory & Henry in the first round of the ODAC Tournament on Monday night, it will be only the third time in program history W&L has swept a three-game series with a single team in one season. Last year, the Blue and White accomplished this feat for the second time, taking three wins over Randolph-Macon with a win in the ODAC quarterfinals.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS
With the eighth-seeded Generals set to play ninth-seeded E&H in Monday's first round contest, they can be optomistic about their chances at a victory. When playing as the higher-seeded team, W&L is 3-0 all-time in the ODAC Tournament. On the contrary, when it enters as the lower seed, the Generals have gone just 2-9 all-time. One of those two instances came last season, when the fifth-seeded Blue and White upset fourth-seeded Randolph-Macon, 78-69 in the quarterfinal round.

MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED
A few members of the 2013 Generals have seen plenty of success in the ODAC Tournament. Senior forwards Rachel Warrick and Katy Wilson are two that have especially made an impact on the court. Below is a quick look at some previous tournament statistics:

Player GP PPG RPG Micellaneous
Warrick 7 7.3 2.3 Made good on 90.9 percent (10-11) of shots from the line
Wilson 7 10.9 8.3 Shot 54.5 percent (30-55) from the field in tournament games